Opteon XP40™

©

Refrigerant (R-449A)

Waitrose Supermarkets transitions
R-404A refrigeration systems to low
GWP Opteon™ XP40 refrigerant andgains up to 9% energy savings

Background

Waitrose, a British supermarket chain with over346 shops ranging from large supermarkets toservice station forecourts, was looking for a way
to dramatically decrease its carbon footprint.
In 2010, Waitrose published its Carbon Plan,
which clearly documented the business’ approachto reducing emissions. The indirect and directemissions from the refrigeration systems in its
shops are a very significant contributor, making
this area a prime target for improvement.

In addition to Waitrose’sinternal plans, on 1st January
2015, the European F-Gas regulation(EU 517/2014) came into force, whichfrom 2020 will ban the use of refrigerants
with a GWP of 2500 or more, e.g. R-404A andR-507A, in all new equipment and for service insystems with a charge >40T CO2e (>10.2kg ofR-404A).

Opteon™

Refrigerants

The Chemours Company (“Chemours”) is supporting
Waitrose Supermarkets in its transition from R-404A
refrigeration systems to low GWP (Global WarmingPotential) Opteon™ XP40 refrigerant.

Opteon™ XP40 (R-449A), the company’s flagship
low GWP refrigerant, was introduced as an ideal
replacement for R-404A. Opteon™ XP40 is a HFO
based blend with a GWP of just 1397, which iswell below the GWP threshold stated in the F-Gas
regulation1. Major compressor manufacturers have
now approved Opteon™ XP40 for use as a R-404A
replacement and XP40 can be found in theircompressor selection software. The performanceof Opteon™ XP40 is very similar to R-404A with asignificant reduction in power consumption under awide range of operating conditions, making it an ideal
candidate for retrofitting existing R-404A systems.

By retrofitting the refrigeration systems in one ofits stores in Devon from R-404A to Opteon™ XP40,
Waitrose gained up to 9% energy savings, providing
the business with a significant opportunity to lower
its CO2e emissions and help to achieve the targets
set out in its Carbon Plan. This project is also thefirst major commercial roll out in the UK of HFO(Hydro-fluoro-olefin) based blend technology for
replacement of R-404A in existing equipment.

Opteon™ XP40 Refrigerant

In October 2014, Chemours commercially launched
the Opteon™ low GWP portfolio of refrigerants to help
meet increasingly stringent global HFC regulations
while maintaining and even improving performancecompared to incumbent products.

1

Opteon™ XP40 Properties
ASHRAE Number

R-449A

LubricantPOE

Boiling Point-46.0 °C (-50.7 °F)

Safety Classification

A1

Temperature Glide~4 K (~7 °R)

Global Warming Potential; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report as specified inEU 517/2014.

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Refrigerants

Refrigeration System and Conversion toOpteon™ XP40 (R-449A)

The decision was taken to retrofit a typical Waitrose
store in Holsworthy, Devon, from R-404A toOpteon™ XP40. The refrigeration system consistedof two high temperature packs and one lowtemperature pack, all of which were manufactured
by Space Cooling Systems in 2004 and all packs use
Copeland Scroll compressors. The low temperaturepack was connected to six in-store cabinets andone cold store. The high temperature packs wereconnected to a total of 18 cabinets and threerefrigerated counters in the store and three coldrooms for storage.

Operation and Energy Performance

The energy consumption of the refrigeration systems
was measured for two weeks before the retrofit
and then for three weeks after the retrofit had been
completed. ColdService (part of the EPTA Group)
was chosen to perform the retrofit and the first
retrofit took place overnight on the 12th July 2015.
The other two packs were retrofitted on consecutive
nights, without causing any disruption to the
trading floor during the store’s opening hours. TheOpteon™ XP40 retrofit guidelines were followed andno components or oil changes were required, making
the retrofit very fast and straightforward.
Analysis of the energy consumption data wasperformed by Emerson Climate Technologies, RetailSolutions, which revealed that at equivalent ambient
temperatures during the monitoring period, the hightemperature systems’ energy consumption wasreduced by 8.7%. For the low temperature system,
the energy consumption was reduced by 3.0%.
For the total refrigeration system, this equates to a
reduction in energy consumption of 6.6%.

Conclusion“No component changes, no oil changes and similarsystem operating parameters made the retrofit verystraightforward and fast once the R-404A had been
recovered. The good cooling performance and lower
energy consumption makes Opteon™ XP40 an ideal
retrofit option for R-404A systems,” said Paul Blanch,
Senior Manager, Emerson Climate Technologies,
Retail Solutions.
The reduction in energy consumption and the 64%
reduction in the GWP of Opteon™ XP40 compared toR-404A offer a significant opportunity for Waitrose
to lower its CO2e emissions and help to achieve thetarget set out in its Carbon Plan.
Danny Ryan, Refrigeration Manager, Waitrose,
who is leading the overall project commented:“Reducing our CO2e emissions is a key target andso retrofitting existing R-404A systems with alower GWP refrigerant is a key part of our strategy.
Opteon™ XP40 has helped achieve this by not only
reducing the direct emissions of the refrigerant,
but also by reducing the energy consumption of thesystems.”

Opteon™

Refrigerants

For more information on the Opteon™ family of ­refrigerants or otherrefrigerants products vist opteon.com

The information set forth herein is furnished free of charge and based on technical data that Chemours believes to be reliable. It is intended for use by persons having technical skill, at theirown risk. Because conditions of use are outside our control, Chemours makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and assumes no liability in connection with any use of this information.
Nothing herein is to be taken as a license to operate under, or a recommendation to infringe, any patents or patent applications.
© 2016 The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Opteon™ and any associated logos are trademarks or copyrights of The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Chemours™ and the Chemours Logo aretrademarks of The Chemours Company.